skribs
Grandmaster
I have quit my current TKD/HKD school, in lieu of a move halfway across the country this summer. I have earned my HKD 1st Dan black belt, although I am still awaiting physical acknowledgment in the form of the belt and certificate. This marks the second art I have earned a black belt in, the first being my primary art of Taekwondo.
Where I am moving to, there is no Hapkido. There are a few TKD places, and a lot of BJJ places. I plan to continue my TKD journey. However, I will switch my grappling focus from HKD to BJJ. It's something I've wanted to learn for a long time, but haven't had the time. Now, I'm going to make time. Even if there were HKD schools in the new town, I probably still would make the switch. My Master taught a very focused version of HKD that focuses most on the joint locks. I don't really know that I would enjoy doing TKD and HKD together at another school which has a broader approach to the art, as much as I would in another dedicated grappling school.
However, even though my official journey has ended, HKD will still play a large role in my journey to come. In TKD, it will show up heavily in the self-defense portion of my curriculum. I know a lot of it is supposedly TKD as well, but we generally went deeper both in technical detail as well as practical application in the HKD class. Similarly, as I start taking BJJ, I will draw on my experience in HKD. Where there are similarities, I can draw inspiration. Where there are differences, I can learn another way of doing things, and figure out what works best for me. I also know a BJJ student who trained HKD at our school, and used the HKD techniques to great effect in defending grips, so I might find a few uses for some of the techniques I already know.
I'm done with HKD, but I probably never will be.
Where I am moving to, there is no Hapkido. There are a few TKD places, and a lot of BJJ places. I plan to continue my TKD journey. However, I will switch my grappling focus from HKD to BJJ. It's something I've wanted to learn for a long time, but haven't had the time. Now, I'm going to make time. Even if there were HKD schools in the new town, I probably still would make the switch. My Master taught a very focused version of HKD that focuses most on the joint locks. I don't really know that I would enjoy doing TKD and HKD together at another school which has a broader approach to the art, as much as I would in another dedicated grappling school.
However, even though my official journey has ended, HKD will still play a large role in my journey to come. In TKD, it will show up heavily in the self-defense portion of my curriculum. I know a lot of it is supposedly TKD as well, but we generally went deeper both in technical detail as well as practical application in the HKD class. Similarly, as I start taking BJJ, I will draw on my experience in HKD. Where there are similarities, I can draw inspiration. Where there are differences, I can learn another way of doing things, and figure out what works best for me. I also know a BJJ student who trained HKD at our school, and used the HKD techniques to great effect in defending grips, so I might find a few uses for some of the techniques I already know.
I'm done with HKD, but I probably never will be.
